Kardec, model of devotion and abnegation
Devotion and abnegation are a continuous prayer and contain a profound teaching. Human wisdom resides in those two words.[1]
Kardec was one of the most robust models of devotement and abnegation. Those who pay attention to his writings published in the Spiritist Magazine observe some aspects of his character, of his virtues that, despite his modesty and discretion, sticks out here and there.
Aiming at emphasizing the qualities of that noble spirit, to whom we owe the legacy of the Spiritist Science, we selected some of his texts that do evidence his common sense and virtues.
Everyone knows how much the Master endured of teasing, calumny, slander and mockery from those that did not understand the noble mission that his generous soul had accepted to realize on Earth, by the love of humanity.
The way he lived and faced the most difficult situations, the most furious adversaries, are evident in his works, in his own words, and serve to the instruction of those who seek to conquer virtues and wish to learn from the practical examples of this remarkable spirit, who was known as Allan Kardec in this planet.
Once facing celebrity, he had to renounce to his appreciation for quietness…
“We could live quietly and far from the agitation of the business in the property that I owe and that I keep as a leftover from what the ill-faith could not take from me. Removing me from obscurity, Spiritism came to throw me in a new path; very soon I was dragged into a movement that I was far from foreseeing. When I envisaged the idea of the Spirits’ Book my intention was not to position myself in evidence and to remain incognito; but, once published it was then no longer possible: I had to renounce to my taste for quietness, otherwise I would have to abdicate the accomplished work that increased daily. I had to follow its impulse and take control of the leash. If my name has now some popularity certainly it was not I who sought that, since it is evident that I don’t owe it to neither propaganda nor to the camaraderie of the press, and that I have never taken advantage of my position and my networking to launch myself in the society, fact that would have been easy[2]."
Courage, firmness, humbleness and sacrifice…
“Nevertheless, as the amount of work grew, a broader horizon or receding borders unfolded before me. I then understood the enormity of my task and the importance of the work which still remained to be done, in order to accomplish it.
“Far from frightening me, the difficulties and obstacles doubled my energy; I saw the objective and decided to achieve it, with the assistance of the good spirits. I felt that there was no time to waste and did not waste it in useless visits and idle ceremonies. It was the work of my life.”
“I dedicated all my time to that; I sacrificed my leisure and my health on its behalf, because the future was written with irrefutable characters before me. I did that from my own impulse and my wife, who was not more ambitious or selfish than me, completely agreed with my points of view and seconded my laborious task, as she still does, sometimes doing work beyond her own strength, unregrettingly sacrificing the pleasures and distractions of the world, to which her education and social position had familiarized her with.” [3]
Privation of the material interests on behalf of the propagation of the Doctrine.
“Without distancing us from our life style, that exceptional position still created needs which my own resources would not suffice. It would be difficult to imagine the multiplicity of expenses that it creates and that without such position I would have avoided. The need to live in two residences is, as I said, an increase in costs by the obligation of double furniture, not accounting for a number of small expenses required by that double dwelling and the losses resulting from the negligence of my material interests, left behind due to a series of activities that absorbed my whole time.
This is not a complaint since my current occupations are voluntary; it is a fact that I attest, on responding to those who say that everything I do regarding Spiritism is profitable to me. As for the special expenses incurred by my position, it would be impossible to enumerate them all, but if you consider that I have annually more than eight hundred francs associated with the mail posting of letters, irrespective of the trips, and that I have the need to associate to someone to help me, plus other indispensable small expenses, you shall understand that I do not exaggerate by stating that my annual expenses, that have incessantly grown, are more than tripled today. One can have an approximate idea of how much such surplus can achieve in eight years by assuming an average of 6,000 francs per year. Well, nobody will contest the utility of those expenses for the success of the Doctrine, which would have weakened had I stayed in my seclusion, without seeing anybody and without the several connections that I maintain on a daily basis. This is, nevertheless, what I would have been forced to do, had I not had anything else coming to support me.”
Behold, ladies and gentlemen, it was the product of my work that provided me with those additional resources. I say with satisfaction that it was my own work, with the result of my vigils that I provided, at least it its majority, the needs for the installation of the Doctrine. I thus brought a large share to the budget of Spiritism. It was God’s wishes that Spiritism found in itself the means for the initiation of the action. In the beginning I regretted that my little fortune would not allow me to do what I wanted to do for the benefit of the cause, but now I see the means applied by the Providence and the realization of that prediction so many times repeated by the spirits: “Do not be disturbed by anything. God knows what you need and will know how to provide it.”
Had I utilized the proceedings of my publications for the benefit of my material pleasures, this would have resulted in a loss to Spiritism, however nobody would have the right to object to that as I had the prerogative of using it at will since I owed it to myself; but as I was deprived before I could also find myself deprived later; I do believe that by applying these resources to the works nobody will think that it is money badly employed and those who help with the propagation of the publications will not be able to say that they do so to make me rich.”[4]
Facing calumny and defamation…
“A lot has been said about the profits I had obtained with my works; no serious person really believes in my millions, despite the statements given by those who indicated to have good source of information and that I lead a prince like life style, four horses’ carriages, and that in my house one would only step on Aubusson’s carpets (Spiritist Magazine, June 1862). In spite of what he had said in addition to this, the author of a brochure that you know, who proves by hyperbolic calculations that the budget of my proceedings overcomes the civil list of the most powerful sovereign in Europe, since only in France, about twenty million Spiritists are my contributors (Spiritist Magazine, June 1863), there is something that is more authentic than his calculations. It is the fact that I have never asked anything to anybody, and that nobody has ever given me anything personally; in one word I do not live as a burden to anybody, since the resources that were voluntarily entrusted to me, in the interest of Spiritism, not a single portion has been ever deviated to my own benefit.
My great wealth, thus, came from my Spiritist works. Although those publications may have had an unexpected success, just a few notions of publication’s business are necessary to clarify that it is not with Philosophical books that one can accumulate millions in five or six years, when one has by copyrights sales participation only a few cents per book. Nevertheless, be it much or little, as it is the result of my own work, nobody has the right to get involved with the use I give to that result, even if raised to the millions, considering that the sale of the books as well as the subscription to the Magazine, is facultative and not imposed in any circumstance, not even to the attendance of the sessions of the Society, thus it is none of anybody’s business. Commercially speaking I am in the position of every man that harvests the fruit of his own work; I take the same risk of every writer that can either succeed or fail.”
“We have had enough to live very modestly, at all times, this is correct, but what would have been little to certain people was enough to us, thanks to our tastes and habits of order and economy. The proceeds of the works I published before Spiritism came to join our little revenue, added to the compensation of a modest job that I had to quit when the activities of the Doctrine took all my time.”
“Although I do not have to report it, from this point of view I believe to be useful, for the benefit of the cause to which I have devoted my life, to give some explanations.”
“To start with, I will say that as the works are not my exclusive property, I am obliged to buy them from my Editor, with the exception of the Magazine; that the profit is significantly diminished by the books that are not sold and by those which are distributed free of charge, done so in the interest of the Doctrine, to persons who, without it, would be deprived of them. A very simple calculation demonstrates that the price of, say, ten lost or donated volumes, that I have to pay for, is enough to absorb the profit of a hundred other volumes. This must be said as informative and between brackets. All added up and the balance is still something positive. You can imagine the figure that you wish. What do I do with that? This is what bothers certain creatures.”
Simple life style…
“Whoever may have seen our intimacy in the past and see it today can attest that nothing has changed in our life style, since I began to get involved with Spiritism. It is as simple now as it was in other times. Then it is certain that my profits, however big they are, do not serve to provide us with the pleasures of luxury. Would that be the case that I have the eccentricity of accumulating treasures in order to contemplate my money? I don’t think that my character and my habits have ever made it possible to suppose.”
“Why are things like that? Considering that I take no benefit of that, the more fabulous the amount, the more embarrassing is the answer. One day the exact amount will be known, as the detailed use given to that, and the creatures of stories will spare imagination”.[5]
A legacy of disinterest and abnegation…
“Personally, and although active part of the Committee, we shall not constitute overload to the budget, neither by compensation, nor by travel indemnity, nor by any cause. If we have never asked anything for us, even less so we would do under this circumstance; our time, our life, all of our physical and intellectual forces belong to the Doctrine. We thus formally declare that no single part of the resources attributed to the Committee will be deviated to our own benefit.”
“On the contrary, we bring our share to the Committee by:
1° - Awarding the profits of our works, already done and to be done;
2° - By the provision of mobile as well as real estate values.
Thus, we vow for the realization of our plans in the interest of the Doctrine, and not to create a position for us, that we don’t need. It was to pave the way of that installation that we have up until now given the product of our works, as we have said above. If our personal means do not allow us to do more, we shall at least have the satisfaction of having plunged its first milestone.”[6]
Recognition, gratitude and modesty…
Ladies and gentlemen, and all of you, my dear and good brothers in Spiritism:
The so warm and benevolent reception I have being receiving from you, since my arrival, would be enough to make me proud, if I did not understand that such demonstrations are addressed less to the person than to the Doctrine, of which I am nothing more than one of its humblest workers. It is the consecration of a principle, and I feel doubly happy as this principle must one day ensure man’s happiness and Society’s peace, once it is well understood, and even better yet, when it is practiced. Its adversaries combat it because they do not understand it. It is up to us; it is up to the true Spiritists, to those who see in Spiritism something else than the more or less curious experiences, to make it understood and to propagate it, preaching as much by the example as by the word. The Spirits’ Book resulted in the demonstration of its philosophical reach. If that book has any merit it would be to me a presumption to be proud of it, since the Doctrine it contains is not my creation. The whole honor for what it has achieved is due to the spirits who dictated it and wanted to use me as their server. I can thus hear the praise without affecting my modesty, and without having my self-esteem exalted by that. If I had the desire to benefit from it, I would certainly have claimed its conception, instead of attributing it to the spirits; and if I could have any doubt about the superiority of those who contributed, it would be enough to consider the influence it has exerted, in such a short time, only by the power of logic, and without any of the material means proper to the super excited curiosity.”
“In any case, ladies and gentlemen, the cordiality of your reception will be a powerful encouragement to me in the laborious task that I have endured and that I have turned into the very reason of my life, for it gives me the consoling assurance that the men of heart are no longer rare in this materialistic century, as they like to proclaim it. The feelings arising from such benevolent testimonies are better understood than expressed; and what gives them, to my eyes, an invaluable price, is that it is not moved by any personal consideration. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, in the name of Spiritism, and above all in the name of the PARISIAN SOCIETY OF SPIRITIST STUDIES, which shall be happy by the demonstrations of sympathy that you have kindly given it, and proud to count on such a large number of good and loyal comrades.
Allow me to delineate, in a few words, the impressions I take from my short visit with you.[7]
Prudence, indulgence and firm decisions…
“If my principles are false, why haven’t they presented others to substitute them, forcing their prevalence? As it seems, however, and generally speaking, they are not considered irrational, since they find followers in such a large number. But shouldn’t that be exactly what excites the humor of certain persons? Had those principles found no followers, if they were ridiculous since its first statement, certainly nobody would talk about them.”
“As for the others, those who pretend that I don’t advance rapidly, those would like to push me – with a good intention, as I want to believe, for it is always advisable to presuppose better than worse, in a path where I don’t want to risk. Thus, not allowing me to be influenced by the ideas of the former or the latter, I follow the route that I myself have designed: I have an objective, I know how and when it will be achieved, and the clamors of the passers-by do not disturb me.”
“Believe me, ladies and gentlemen, I lack no stones in my path. I walk over them, even the heaviest and tallest. If the real cause of certain antipathies and separations was known, we would be caught by many surprises!” [8]
Faith in the future life, humbleness before flattery and other traps of envy…
“It is still necessary, however, to mention the persons who are positioned against me, in false, ridicule and compromising situations, and that try to justify themselves, resourcing to little calumnies, as a last resort: those who expected to seduce me by praise, believing to make me serve their plots and that acknowledged the uselessness of their maneuvers to attract my attention; those that I did not praise or blessed and that expected it from me; finally those that did not forgive me for guessing their intentions and who are like the snake which has been stepped on.”
“If everyone tried to place themselves, for an instant of time, in an unearthly position, looking at things from a somewhat higher location, they would understand the puerility of their concerns and would not be surprised by the little importance given to all that by the true Spiritists. The reason being that Spiritism opens up so vast horizons that the corporeal life, short and ephemeral, is erased with all its vanities and little intrigues, before the infinity of the spiritual life.”
“I should not, however, omit a criticism addressed to me: of not doing anything to bring back to my circle those persons who go away. This is true and the complaint is founded; I deserve it for I have not ever moved one step in that direction and here are the reasons for my indifference. Those who approach me do so for being convenient to them; it is less for my own person than for sympathy to the principles that I profess. Those who go away do so because I am not convenient to them or because our way of seeing things do not reciprocally agree. Why should I then bother them, imposing myself on them? It seems more convenient to leave them alone. Besides, honestly, I have no time for that. Everyone knows that my occupations do not spare me any break for resting. Also, for one that leaves there is a thousand that arrives. I judge to be my duty, above all, to dedicate myself to the latter and this is what I do.”
“Is it pride? Disdain to others? Oh! No! Honestly, no! I don’t disdain anyone; I regret those who act badly, begging to God and to the good spirits to bring good feelings into their hearts; and that is all. If they come back, they are always welcomed with jubilation. But running after them, which is not possible to me, even considering the time that others of good will claim from me and, besides, because I don’t give to certain persons the importance that they themselves attribute to them.”
“To me, a man is a man and that is all! I measure their value by their acts, feelings, never by their social positions. May that person be it in the highest social echelons, if he or she does wrong, if selfish and negligent with their own dignity, to my eyes, they are inferior to the one that proceeds correctly, and I shake hands more cordially with a humble man whose heart I can hear, than with potentate whose chest is mute. The former warms me up, the latter freezes me.”
“Men of the highest position have honored me with their visits, however a worker has never been asked to remain in the waiting room because of them. Several times in my living room the prince has sat down side by side with the worker; if he feels humiliated, I will tell him that he is not worthy of being a Spiritist.”
“But I feel happy to say that I have seen them shaking hands many times, fraternally, and then a thought crossed my mind: “Spiritism, here is one of your miracles; this is the sign of many other prodigies!” [9]
Tolerance, moderation, goodness, benevolence, simplicity, dedication and kindness…
“It would depend on me to have the doors of the high society opened; however I have never knocked on them. That would require a kind of time that I prefer to employ more usefully. I put the consolation that is necessary to offer to those who suffer first, raise the courage of the fallen ones, remove a man from his passions, desperation, suicidal, perhaps stopping them at the doorway of a crime! Isn’t that more valuable than the golden frames? I keep thousands of letters that to me are worthy more than all Earthly honors and that I see as true titles of nobility. Thus, do not be surprised if those who turn their backs to me are allowed to leave.”
“I have adversaries, I know! But their numbers is not as high as one would suppose by the enumeration indicated. They are among the groups that I have cited, but are only isolated individuals and their number is almost nothing compared to the ones who wish to testify their sympathy to me. Besides, they have never succeeded in perturbing my peace, not even once have their machinations and diatribes moved me and I must add that such a profound indifference on my side, the silence that I oppose to their attacks, is not what exasperate them less. However much they do, they will never make me lose moderation nor deviate me from the rule of conduct that I have established.”
“One will never say that I have responded to injury with injury. Those who know me in my intimacy may say if I have ever mentioned them; if in any occasion any word has been said in the Society, if a single allusion has been made to any of them. Even through the Magazine, I have never responded to their aggression, whenever addressed to me, and God knows that I don’t lack them! Besides, what is the result of their animosity? None! Not against the Doctrine, nor me. The Spiritist Doctrine proves that it has nothing to fear by its progressive march.”
“As for myself, I have no position, thus there is nothing that can be denied to me; I don’t ask for anything, solicit nothing, then, nothing can be refused. I owe nothing to anybody thus there isn’t anything that can be demanded from me; I don’t speak badly of anybody even of those who do against me. How can they harm me then? It is true that they can attribute to me things that I have not said and it has already been done more than once. However, those who know me are capable of distinguishing what I say from what I am not able to say I and I am thankful to those who, in similar situations, knew to respond for me. What I affirm, I am always ready to repeat in the presence of whoever might be, and when I affirm not having said or done something, I trust to have the right to be believed.”
“Besides, what is the meaning of all that considering the objective that all of us, the sincere and devoted Spiritists, jointly seek? Of that immense future that unfolds before our eyes? Believe it, ladies and gentlemen, it was necessary look at those things as a robbery perpetrated against the great work, the time lost with those meaningless things. I for one thank God for having given me, already on Earth, so much moral compensation, to the price of so transient tribulations, as well as for the joy of witnessing the triumph of the Spiritist Doctrine.”
“I ask for your forgiveness, ladies and gentlemen, for having entertained you for such a long time with issues related to me, but I believe it to be useful, to clearly establish that position, so that it may be possible to you to know who to believe, according to the circumstances and so that you can be convinced that my line of conduct is established and that nothing will make me deviate from that. Finally, I believe that something useful may result from these observations, abstraction made of my own person.”[10]
“… He died this Morning, between 11 am and 12 pm, suddenly, when delivering a number of the Magazine to a cashier of the Editor that had just bought it; he bent over, not saying a single word: he was dead…Paris, March 31st, 1869.”[11]
[1] The Gospel according to Spiritism, Chap. VI – The Consoling Christ – The promised Consoler, item 4.
[2] Spiritist Magazine, December 1868 – Transient constitution of Spiritism.
[3] Spiritist Magazine, June 1865 – Expense report of Spiritism.
[4] Spiritist Magazine, June 1865 – Expense report of Spiritism.
[5] Spiritist Magazine, December 1868, Transient constitution of Spiritism.
[6] Ditto.
[7] Spiritist Magazine, October 1860 – Banquet offered to the Lyonnais Spiritists to Mr. Allan Kardec.
[8] SPIRITIST VOYAGE 1862 – Speeches given in the general meetings of the Spiritists of Lyon and Bordeaux – Speech I.
[9] SPIRITIST VOYAGE 1862 – Speeches given in the general meetings of the Spiritists of Lyon and Bordeaux – Speech I.
[10] SPIRITIST VOYAGE 1862 – Speeches given in the general meetings of the Spiritists of Lyon and Bordeaux – Speech I.
[11] Rational Catalogue, Works that may serve to found a Spiritist Library – Masdras Ed. 2004.